Ammodramus bairdii
adult
Baird’s Sparrow is a well-marked little songbird with a relatively large bill. The sexes are similar. Adults have dark brown back feathers with buff margins. The wing feathers are reddish brown with buff margins. The nape and neck are finely streaked, and the head pattern comprises a dark crown with a pale central stripe, and a buffish-yellow face with two dark spots at the rear of the ear coverts. A dark malar stripe separates the buffish “mustache” and the white throat. The underparts are otherwise pale except for the buff band across the breast and dark streaks on the breast and flanks. Juveniles are similar to an adult but the back appears scaly owing to the pale feather margins.
Baird’s Sparrow is present as a breeding species in its restricted range mainly from May to September. It spends the rest of the year mainly in Mexico. It is an extremely secretive species that is most reluctant to leave the cover of grassland vegetation. The best chances for observation come in spring, when males sometimes sing from exposed perches.
FACT FILE
LENGTH 5.5 in (14 cm)
FOOD Mainly seeds, with invertebrates in spring and summer
HABITAT Shortgrass prairies in summer; short grassland in winter
STATUS Scarce and local summer visitor
VOICE Song comprises a couple of thin tsip notes followed by a warbled phrase and then a trill. Call is a thin tsee
